Water heater



March 29, 1938. c. H. MoRRow WATER HEATER Filed April 9, 195e Fla-3 Illull Fl G74 INVENTOR CLARENCE H. MORROW FIG."2

Patented Mar. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATER HEATER Clarence H. Morrow, Shaker Heights, Ohio, as-

signor to The Hotstream Heater Company, Cleveland, hio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 9, 1936, Serial No. 73,510

6 Claims.

Water heaters of the type including a water reservoir and a heating unit therebeneath when designed to reduce the overall height thereof, position the heating unit below the reservoir and relatively close to the surface upon which the heater is supported. 'I'hese heaters are sometimes placed upon wooden floors and, to insure against fire hazard, building codes specify that the temperature of the floor below such burners shall not exceed a certain upper limit. My invention provides novel means for insuring against the overheating of the surface upon which the water heater rests.

When control equipment for heaters using gaseous or volatile fuel is housed within a cabinet there is an explosion hazard in case fuel should leak into unventilated pockets in the cabinet. My invention provides novel means for ventilating the portion of the cabinet housing thefuel supply and control equipment.

The novel structural features by which I carry out my invention will be more 'clearly understood from the accompanying drawing and specification and the essential features thereof will be set forth in the claims.

I In the drawing, Fig. 1 is-a sectional elevation of awater heating device embodying my invention; and-Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views along similarly mounted lines of Fig. 1. y

I have illustrated my inventionas applied to that type of water heater which utilizes gas or similar fuel for the heating of the water, but it will be understood that a similar structure within the scope of the appended claims may be utilized with an electric or other heating unit.

In the form shown, a water reservoir III is supplied with the usual water inlet pipe I2 and outlet pipe I I. A cabinet I3 surrounds the entire unit and is provided with a removable front door I4 and the generally vertical transverse partition I5 forming a compartment Iadjacent the water reservoir and in which insulating material I6 may be packed if desired. A burner I1 is supported by a bracket I8 secured to a generally horizontal partition oor I3a of the cabinet I3 and the burner is supplied with a suitable fuel such as gas through -a suitable connection I9. The usual control members, such as valves, thermostats, a pilot and the like, areindicated in the drawing but need not to be described here. It is suilicient to say that the gas is supplied to burner I1 in a well known manner and the supply of fuel is in accordance with the demand for hot water removed from the reservoir. 'I'he products of combustion from burner I1 pass upwardly through a flue which is supplied with suitable damper means. as is usual.

The generally vertical transverse partition I5 and the generally vertical cylindrical reservoir partition 22, together with the generally horizontal partition I3a and the generally vertical side walls of the cabinet I3 and the lower head of the reservoir I0, form an upper chamber compartment substantially enclosing the burner I'I. Generally vertical walls I3b, here shown as integral with the generally horizontal partition I3a, extend below the cabinet proper on all sides thereof and form a base which holds the cabinet. and the parts therein, slightly above the oor or other surface 23 upon which rests the present water heater, said walls I3b being provided with inwardly extending bottom anges I3c, as shown. A lower chamber compartment 24 is therefore formed within the base and below the generally horizontal partition I3a thereof, as will be readily understood. One or more openings 25, three being here shown, are provided in the front end portion of the partition I3a, and the upper chamber compartment is provided with suitable openings 26 and 21, in the partitions I5 and 22, respectively, so that communication is provided between the lower chamber compartment and the upper chamber compartment. For the lower chamber compartment, suitable air inlet means remote from the openings is provided, and in the embodiment here shown, air inlet openings 28 are provided in the rear base wall I3b, which wall is farthest removed from the openings 25, and other air inlet openings 29 are provided in the rear end portions of the side base walls I3b.

It is to be understood, however, that any air inlet openings for the admission of secondary air to thev lower chamber compartment, at a point or points removed from the opening or openings 25, are suilicient for the purpose, so long as a suffcient volume of secondary air is forced to flow across the lower surface of the partition I3a for the protection of the iloor or other surface 23 upon which rests the present water heater.

With the above described construction, when the burner I1 is in operation, the products of combustion passing out the iiue 20 cause convection currents in the direction of the arrows, Fig. 1, so that relatively cools secondary air for the burner I'I is caused to enter the lower chamber compartment through the inlet openings 28 or20orboth,saidsecondaryairpassingtothe left as viewed in Fig. l. beneath the partition Ila, then-through vthe openings 2l, 2l and 21 tothe upper chamber compartment. in which the burner I1 is located, and thence out through the ue. Such a current of cool air passing below tbe partition ita will cool the partition, which would normally be a metal plate, and thus protect-the floor or other surface 2l from excessive heat due to the close proximity of burner i1.

As an additional protection to minimize the heat reaching the oor or other surface 23 from the burner I1, I provide heat insulation II- between the burner i1 and the door or other surface 2l. 'Ihis insulating material. if desired, may be incased in a metal housing `32, as here shown. and securely bolted to the partition Ila by the members 22. f

I find that by utilizing the construction above described, I can place the water reservoir of the heater very close to the floor 22, which places the burner I1 still closer to the floor, but with the protection here shown and described I am able to hold the temperature of the floor at a point low enoughto prevent charring or burning of a combustible floor 23 and well below the temperatures specified in those building codes with which I am familiar.

It will be noted that in the front or left portion of the cabinet i3 as viewed in Fig. 1, a chamber 2l is formed between the door il and the transverse partition I6, which chamber 2| houses the fuel supply and control equipment. If .the space in this chamber is dead space, any leakage of fuel therein may cause a dangerous condition. To avoid such a contingency, one or more openings I0 for the ingress of air into chamber 2| may be provided, and by locating the openings lli at a point removed from the source of suction, namely, from the'opening 28 in the partition I5 which leads to the upper chamber compartment and to the flue 2li, I insure good ventilation for chamber 2|. By making the air inlet openings 2l and 29 insufllcient to supply a proper amount of secondary air to the burner I1 and less than the capacity of nue 20, I insure that some secondary air will be drawn through openings ll. At the same time, the openings il are smallenough to insure suflicient draft through the air inlet openings 28 and 2l to create the cooling eect desired in the lower chamber compartment for the proper protection of the floor or other surface 23, all as will be readily understood.

What I claim is:

l. In a water heater having a water reservoir and a water heating unit therebeneath and located a relatively short distance above a floor or other surface, a casing forming a substantially closed chamber between said reservoir and said i'ioor or other surface and enclosing said heating unit, a partition beneath said heating unit and spaced from said oor or other surface and dividing said chamber into an upper'burner compartment between said reservoir and said partition and a lower air compartment between said. partition and said floor or other surface, a heat insulating member under said heating unit and adjacent said partition, a flue communicating with said upper compartment for the now therefrom of products of combustion, an air passageway establishing communication between said upper and lower compartments for the flowr of air from the lower compartment to the upper compartment, and air inlet means for said lower compartment and remotely located relative to said air passageway, whereby said floor or other surface is protected from the heating effects of said heating unit by said insulating member and by the air which enters the lower compartment through the air inlet means thereof and which passes beneath said lpartition to said air passagezvay and thence into said upper compartmen 2. In a water heater having a water reservoir and a fuel burner unit-therebeneath and located a relatively short distance above a floor or other surface, a casing forming a substantially closed chamber between said reservoir and said floor or other surface and enclosing said burner unit, a partition beneath said burner unit and spaced above said floor or other surface and dividing s aid chamber into an upper burner compartment between said reservoir and said partition and a lower air compartment between said partition and said floor or other surface, said partition under said burner unit being uninterrupted, a flue communicating with said upper compartment for the flow therefrom of products of combustion, an air passageway through said partition establishing communication between said upper and lower compartments for the ow of air from said lower compartment to said upper compartment, and air inlet means in said casing and below said partition for the lower compartment, said air inlet means being remotely located relative to said air passageway, whereby air drawn through said inlet means into said lower compartment ows beneath said partition, with a cooling effect thereon, to said air passageway and thence into said upper compartment.

3.In a water heater having awater reservoir and a fuel burner unit therebeneath, a cabinet enclosing said reservoir and said burner unit, partition means providing an upper compartment in which said burner unit is located and a lower compartment, air inlet means for said lower compartment and a products of combustion outlet means for said upper compartment, and an air passageway establishing communication between said lower and upper compartments for the flow of air from said lower compartment to said upper compartment, the air inlet means for said lower compartment being remotely located relative to said air passageway, the two compartments being otherwise sufficiently closed so that a large proportion of the secondary air supplied.

to said burner unit ows through said lower compartment and across the lower surface of said partition means, with the consequent production of a cooling effect upon said partition means.

4. In a water heater having a water reservoir and a compartment therebeneath in which is located a fuel burner, said water heater also having a flue communicating with said compartment for the flow therefrom of products of combustion, control apparatus for the supply of fuel to said burner, cabinet means having a chamber for said control apparatus, there being an air passageway between said chamber and said burner compartment and there being an air inlet means in said cabinet means for the flow of air into said chamber, the air inlet means of said cabinet means being remotely located relative to said air passageway.

5. A water heater as in claim 4, characterized in that partition means is provided which forms an air compartment beneath said burner, air inlet means for such air compartment, means establshing communication between said air compartment and said burner compartment, said air inlet means for said air compartment being insumcient to supply said burner with a proper amount of secondary air, whereby secondary air for said burner is also supplied through the air inlet means of said cabinet means.

6. In a water heater having a water reservoir and a water heating unit therebeneath and located a relatively'short distance above a oor or other surface, a casing forming a substantially closed chamber between said reservoir and said floor or other'surface and enclosing said heating unit, a heat insulating partition beneath said unit and spaced from the oor or other surface and dividing said chamber into an upper burner compartment between said reservoir and said partition and a lower air compartment between said partition and said floor or other surface, a ue communicating with said upper compartment for the flow therefrom of products of combustion, an air passageway at one side of said casing establishing communication between said upper and lower compartments for the flow of air from the lower compartment to the upper compartment, and an air inlet opening for said lower compartment remotely located relative to said air passageway, whereby the oor or other surface is protected from the heating e'ects of said heating unit by said insulating partition and by the air flowing beneath said partition from the lower compartment to the air passageway and thence into the upper compartment.

' CLARENCE H. MORROW. 

